I just tried checking my hotmail account (through a couple of different ways) and can’t get on.  So I then tried doing a search to see if there was any news on it.  Took a while before I keyed in the “right” words for Google search (another frustrating story – just take what I type don’t try to interpret what you think I was typing).  There really isn’t much news about it (looked at MSN live sites and news services – nothing).  You’d think Microsoft would put something like this right up and out in the open so people would know it’s not their computers but MS.

Okay that’s my little rant – now just waiting for hotmail to come back online.

Do you ever have days when you just can’t stop thinking about something?  Today is one of those days for me.  So I thought that if I wrote it down I’ll at least be able to get it out of my head and on to paper.  Of course I don’t want to be too specific – sometimes it’s good to keep some thoughts private – it’s just the idea of writing (albeit cryptically) that I think will be therapeutic.

I’ve been trying to distract myself all day but I just keep going back to it.  I know it’s silly and practically impossible but  still it persists.  There is also no way to resolve it either but still it’s there at the back of my mind pushing its way forward.

It’s the kind of thing that makes me want to write poetry – maybe it’s just been my subconscious telling me I should write more and giving me something to write about – something of a muse I suppose.  Interesting thought – I think I could change this into a muse.  I’m going to give it a try.

Afterward – Well, I have found that writing (albeit cryptically) has definitely helped.  Must try it more often.

It’s that time of year again – time to start thinking about CHRISTMAS!

Okay, I know that many people don’t even think about Christmas till November or sometimes even December, but I find because I love Christmas so much I can’t help but think about it year round.

Anyway, I kind of follow a few Christmas notebook planners (Christmas Notebook, FlyLady Holiday Control Journal, Organized Christmas, and Holiday Grand Plan).  These plans help help you get your house ready for the holidays.  I don’t do exactly what the plans ask because a few things are outdoor and because I live in a Northern climate it doesn’t make sense to do them at the times recommended.  So I’ve adapted the plans a bit to suit me and my family’s style.  Most Holiday Notebook plans begin at the end of August and go until the beginning of December, leaving December free for you to actually enjoy the holidays.

Here’s I how I have my notebook organized:

I prefer using a big 3 ring binder so I can move pages around and add pages when needed.  I divide my notebook into 6 sections:  calendar, plans, to do lists, decor, gifts, and media.

• Calendar – pretty self-explanatory.  I use a month at-a-glance style and briefly note events, birthdays, etc. on it.  I put it at the front of my notebook so every time I open it I look at the calendar.  It’s a great reminder tool.  This year I have a separate calendar, so the whole family can use it all year.
• Plans – here I keep the printable calendars of the various Christmas plans I follow.  These calendars tell you what week to clean which room and what Christmas item to organize.
• To Do Lists – these include weekly cleaning items (ie. Weekly Planning Pages, room-by-room major work to do), shopping (grocery, etc), and general things to do.
• Decor – in this section is how I decorate each room -what decorations go into which rooms and a list of all the Christmas decorations I own (still working on this – I want to take pictures of each items I own, jot down any special memories, and add them to the notebook).
• Gifts – this is where I keep a list of everyone I need to buy Christmas gifts for and how much to spend on each person.  I also record what gifts I already have stored away, plus ideas of what to get each person.
• Media – This is one I will be working on over the course of many years.  I have so many Christmas movies and books it would be nice to know what I have and not duplicate any.

This year as in previous years, I’m going to see how far I can get following the various plans (I’ve yet to complete one, but I keep trying and get a little bit further each time. )

The question of “Who Am I” has come up a few times over the past few months, so I’ve decided to do a little research into my family tree (which is hard when money is tight). So far nothing really stands out – just dates and people’s names.

Not sure how this will help me, maybe just knowing my roots, my history will help me discover who I am.  Maybe this is just something that happens when you get older – you become more introspective.  Maybe I just want to make sure someone remembers me when I’m gone and doing a family tree makes sure I’m recorded somewhere for posterity.  Or maybe I’m really just curious about my ancestors and there is no hidden meaning or subconscious reason for doing this.

Hopefully I’m making baby steps on my journey.

Last week was so hot, I didn’t even want to turn on my computer just to keep the heat down, even a smidge.  And every little bit counts, especially when you don’t have an air conditioner.  Now with the humidity broken a bit, I figured I’d risk the wee bit of extra heat to post.

With all this heat, there is nothing really to do except lie around and watch TV.  Well there really is only so much TV I can take.  So I was also doing Sudoku and one of my favourite passtimes – reading!  I like to read.  Okay that is an understatement – I LOVE TO READ!  I would rather read than do most any other thing.  If there’s a choice between reading and housework – reading wins, hands down (unless company’s coming – then I really need to clean up).

I think I what I love most about reading is getting to know other characters.  I like to read how they think and react to different situations and then wonder what I would do in their place.  I guess it’s the escape – living vicariously through someone else (albeit fictitiously).  Although I don’t think I need the escape, I like my life right now.  There have only been a couple of occasions when I truly wanted to escape, but now that I’m older I find myself quite content with most things.

Anyway back to the reading part – I’ve started a blog page listing all the books I’ve read (minus the primary picture books which are way too numerous to mention).  After starting it, I realized that this is going to take longer than I thought to list, so I’ll be continually adding to it as I remember more books I’ve read and as I read more books.

If you want to see the page, just click on the Books link near the top of the page beside the About Me link.